Wednesday, October 13, 2004

Pensions

Rullsenberg rants from a personal perspective on pensions and asks the question "How do you save when your income barely covers your essential outgoings (food, housing costs, work travel - family expenditure)?".

All may not be as gloomy as forecast. You may not live to pick up a pension. Actuaries believe that "there is no certainty that their children and grandchildren will see a similar, continuing, improvement [in life expectancy to match that of their parents and grandparents]".

The report from March 2004 found that those born between 1925 and 1945 have had a rise in longevity. However those born after WWII have had no increase in their expected longevity.

"The future course of mortality rates for younger adults is subject to considerable uncertainty", due in particular to potential threats such as a resurgence of infectious diseases or the much-discussed obesity 'epidemic'.

So live fat, die young, eat burgers, smoke tabs, base jump,wrestle alligators and save the cost of setting up a pension.

As Rullsenberg comments that post should be in "irony bold".

The median income for a single person in this country is about 200 pounds (UK) a week. After paying housing costs, heating, transport, food , clothes and other luxuries how are you expected to save for a pension that might never come?